Friday, October 8, 2010

Merhaba - ♕♕♕♕

Merhaba, meaning “to welcome”, is one of very few Turkish Dining Restaurants locally. They offer traditional grills, meze and main dishes as well as sheesha, or nargile water pipe smoking pots. To me Turkish food is quite similar to Greek food in many aspects despite being a Muslim country, but ask the locals and they’ll think its an insulting comment even though they sit right next to each other on the map. They might be more foes than friends - but there’s no denying their similar roots of food culture.

Merhaba is part of the King Parrot group, which also owns a long list of shops spanning over numerous continents, ranging from Spanish Restaurants or a new Tapas Bar in Wan Chai, German beer house, Russian Ice Vodka bars, Chinese Shin Jang, Sichuan, Shanghainese or Korean and Japanese cuisine. Some locals associate the Chain with creating restaurants aimed at the Western expats market, but approaching it from another angle it nicely fills in the gap in the niche market. There’s no doubt some food items here are toned down from the original, as some items aren’t even very Turkish in nature. Asking the staff which items are authentic and recommended seems the best way to eating a good share of Turkish items…

Love this Turkish lamp (seriously!)

No Dancing tonight, but on another night of visit, it was entertaining.

Turkish Raki -Tastes just like Greek Ouzo, with strong flavours of Star Anise/Licorice and a cloudy appearance after the addition of Water. Its not a drink for everyone, as it carries a highly acquired minty taste. I’m gradually warming towards it, just!

Dolmak:Ton Balíčky, Keçi Peynirli, Asma Yaprağı -Vine leaves stuffed with Tuna & Turkish goat cheese, this is very similar to Greek Dolmades, just minus the rice bit. One of my favourite dishes in the world ~8/10

Türk Kahvesi -Brought to the boil 3 times in the Cezve pot infront of us, much like Greek coffee Ellinikos Kafes only less stronger, this came to the table bubbly on top and full of grind sediments beneath. Sweet, loveable. Not as bitter as I remember them either, say compared to badly extracted Espresso’s.. No Turkish delights were given though, which is how they should be drank together with ~ 7/10